Citing a PDF in APA style
Published January 27, 2021. Updated October 29, 2021.
To cite a PDF in APA, you need to know the source type, author, publication year, title of the PDF, and the URL (uniform resource locator).
The templates and examples below are based on the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association and the main APA style website. On this page, you can learn how to cite the following:
PDF (report)
There is no special PDF format in APA. Instead, do the following:
Identify the type of source you’re citing (e.g., report, book, journal article, etc.).
Create a citation using APA’s format for that source type.
Include the PDF link. This is enough to indicate to the reader that this source is a PDF.
If you’re trying to cite a PDF, the Chegg Writing APA citation generator could help.
Citing a PDF (report) in APA style
In-text citation template and examples:
Narrative:
Author Surname (Publication Year)
Billie Jane Baguley Library and Archives (2019)
Parenthetical:
(Author Surname, Publication Year)
(Billie Jane Baguley Library and Archives, 2019)
Reference list entry template and example:
Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the PDF. Publisher. URL
Billie Jane Baguley Library and Archives. (2019, February 28). Native American artists resource collection. Heard Museum. https://heard.org/home/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/HMLibrary-NAARCFactSheet.pdf
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Multiple authors and no authors in APA style
2 authors
The name of each author is listed. The word “and” is placed between the two names for narrative citations and an ampersand (“&”) is used between the two names for parenthetical citations and references.
In-text Citation Examples:
Elith and Leathwick (2017)
(Elith & Leathwick, 2017)
Reference Example:
Elith, J., & Leathwick, J. (2017). Boosted regression trees for ecological modeling. Spatial Data Science with R. https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/dismo/vignettes/brt.pdf
Three to 20 authors
Use only the first author’s surname from the reference list followed by “et al.” (“et al.” means “and others.”) Use the same style in first and subsequent citations.
In-text Citation Examples:
Iceland et al. (2017)
(Iceland et al., 2017)
Reference Example:
Iceland, J., Weinberg, D. H., & Steinmetz, E. (2002). Racial and ethnic residential segregation in the United States, 1980–2000. U.S. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/resseg/pdf/front_toc.pdf
21 or more authors
For references with 21 or more authors use the same in-text citation format, but in the reference list entry, include the first 19 authors, followed by an ellipsis and then the last name (without an ampersand preceding it).
In-text Citation Examples:
Cramblet Alvarez et al. (2020)
(Cramblet Alvarez et al., 2020)
Reference Example:
Cramblet Alvarez, L. D., Leach, J. L., Rodriguez, J. L., Thomas, A., Peter, B., Arock, C., Sam, K., Antony, J., Ajay, M., Rodriguez, K. M., Kathy, K., Vincent, J., Patel, N., Samu, P., Paneer, L., Bird, M., Fox, L., Anderson, A., Kamal, W., . . . Jones, K. (2020). Racial and ethnic diversity goes local: Charting change in American communities over three decades. American Communities Project, Brown University. http://www.s4.brown.edu/us2010/Data/Report/report08292012.pdf
Organization as author/publisher
An organization may be cited as the author of a work. In addition, you may (but are not required to) abbreviate long group names as long as the first in-text citation shows the group’s full name and abbreviations.
In-text Citation Examples:
First mention:
Building and Construction Authority (2014)
(Building and Construction Authority [BCA], 2014)
Subsequent mentions:
BCA (2016)
(BCA, 2016)
Reference Example:
Building and Construction Authority. (2014). Building energy efficiency R&D roadmap. National Research Foundation. https://www.nrf.gov.sg/docs/default-source/Publications/building-energy-efficiency.pdf
Read this APA format guide for more style basics. For more information on citing sources in APA, also read these guides on APA in-text citations and APA reference page examples.
APA Style: Learn More
Frequently asked questions
To cite a PDF with no author in APA, the core elements required are the title of the PDF, year of publication, and URL. The below table shows how the in-text citation and the reference-list entry are included for a PDF with no author in APA.
In-text Citation Template & Example:
(Title of the Work, Year of Publication)
(Technical Considerations, 2014)
Reference-list Entry Template& Example:
Title of the PDF. (Publication Year). URL
Technical considerations and calculation methods. (2014). http://www.api.org/~/media/Files/EHS/climate-change/Addressing_Uncertainty.pdf
Notes
Write the PDF title in italics and sentence case in the reference-list entry. However, follow title case in in-text citations.
Shorten the PDF title in in-text citations.
Alphabetically arrange entries with no author by treating the title as the author name.
To cite a PDF in APA, the core elements required are the name of the author or organization, title of the PDF, year of publication, and URL. The below table shows how the in-text citation and the reference-list entry are included for a PDF in APA.
In-text Citation Template and Example:
(Author’s/Organization’s Surname, Year of Publication)
(UNICEF, 1995)
Reference-List Entry Template and Example:
Organization Name. (Date of publication). Title of the PDF. URL
UNICEF. (1995). Convention on the rights of the child. https://www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/2019-04/UN-Convention-Rights-Child-text.pdf
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